Moving Out, Moving In, and Moving On
by 123serendipitee
Summary: In which Coach moves out, Winston moves in, and Jess moves on.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:  
Based on the second New Girl ep, "Kryptonite".  
Just a bit of "for the fun of it" fluff, mostly to say goodbye to Coach. :o)  
But also to show another step or two in how Jess is really settling into their lives and becoming part of them. :o)**

**(I add the "romance" labels to these stories just because we ALL know that's where this is going, and I enjoy showing it sloooooowly unfold. ;o))**

"Jess, you knew him for, like, a month."

"I can't help it Nick!" she sniffed, blotting at her red eyes, "I didn't think I'd have to let him go so soon!"

Schmidt rolled his eyes, "Jess, it was always understood that Coach was just holding the lease for Winston while he was in Latvia. We all knew this day would come."

"_I_ didn't know! No one told _me_! Don't you think this should have been pertinent information to share during the roommate interview? Something like this could really have swayed my decision to move in. I DON'T HANDLE LOSING PEOPLE VERY WELLLLLLL!" She ended on a wail.

"Loook, uhhh...Jess," Coach's uncomfortable eyes rested every place in the room _other_than on Jess's splotchy, snotty little face. "Ummmm...I'll come back and visit...I'm...suuuure..."

"But will you be ok without us?" she asked, blowing her nose really loudly.

"For God's sake Jess," Nick exploded, "He's a grown man! Not an eight year old on his first trip to summer camp!"

"Yeah," added Schmidt, "You're acting like your only son and heir to the plantation has just decided to join the Union Army."

"STOP IT!" Coach finally yelled, and Nick and Schmidt began nodding their agreement...before noticing that it wasn't Jess he was yelling at-it was _them_.

COACH, of all people, had walked over and was patting Jess's shoulder with a clumsy, awkward hand that didn't really seem to know what to with itself. And he was giving THEM a dirty look.

A dirty look which faltered under their incredulous return-stares, and he self-consciously broke off mid-pat, muttering, "She's going to miss me. I think that's...sweet."

"SOOOO, anywayyyy," Schmidt said eyes wide at the strangeness of the moment, before trying to change the subject, "How are we going to spend Coach's last night here?"

"I think we should go to the zoo!" Jess perked up to offer.

Nick and Schmidt laughed their scorn. "Oh sure, like Coach is going to want to go to the ZOO. Yeah, right."

Nick finished chuckling, and said, "I think we should let this be Coach's call, don't you? How about it Coach, what do you want to do for our last hurrah?"

"Yeah," Schmidt chimed in, "One last roommate night-on-the-town, before you leave us. You name it...hookah lounge...a little drag strip action...cigar bar...OOOO! Bros! TATTOOS!..."

Coach muttered something indistinguishable.

"What's that, buddy?"

"Say what?"

Because he _couldn't_ have said what they_ thought _he said.

"I SAID, I THINK," he erupted angrily, before calming himself with visible effort, "...I think we should...I think we should go...to...the zoo." And with his last word, he finally met Jess's eyes...Jess's eyes that were now raised up from her tissue, and were starting to glow with happy plans.

Nick just pulled the most incredulous turtle face on record, while Schmidt shook his head in disbelief and said, "I think it's _time _for you to move on, man. Because I don't even know who you are, anymore. It's like living with stranger. It's extremely discomfiting. EXTREMELY! DISCOMFITING!"

And thaaaat was how they all ended up at the zoo.

"Jess, I haven't been to the zoo since I was twelve years old," Nick griped.

"Then you're nearly 20 years over-due!" she chirped, handing over the money for her ticket.

"I went once when I was 16," said Schmidt, "But only because I was trying to make time with a honey."

"Did it work?"

"Snake cave action, man." At their slightly horrified looks he said, "No, I mean, that's not a euphemism. I kissed her in the snake cave."

"What about you Coach," asked Nick, pushing his way through the entry turnstiles. "When's the last time you went to the zoo?"

"Ummmm..."

"Listen," Schmidt said, "don't let us intimidate you. If it was last year, it was last year. There's no shame in being a man who also enjoys viewing exotic animals living in luxurious captivity."

"Ummmm, actually...I've never been to the zoo before."

"What?"

"Never?"

"And you guys wonder why he's angry all the time!" said Jess, running a soothing little hand down their muscled friend's arm. "Oh Coach, we're going to have so much fun today, it's going to save you YEARS of therapy! OOOO! LOOK! SEALS!"

She sprinted ahead, with Schmidt ("Are you kidding? I LOVE seals!") surprisingly in pursuit, while Nick hung back for a minute with Coach.

"Dude, you've never been to a zoo? Why does that feel so heavy? I feel like you just told me that your dog died, or something."

Coach tried to shrug it off, but DAMN, it looked like the big guy was about to cry. Apparently this was a "thing" with him. And Nick realized that just because you live with someone, it doesn't mean you know them.

Well, unless you're Jess. And then you're up in everyone's business all the time, nagging them to "talk about your feelings".

But Nick had to smile and admit that, for once, it looked like something good was about to come from that.

He laughed, and hit Coach on the arm, "Come on, Teddy Bear...let's go check out some seals".

At the end of the day they sat in their favorite yogurt shoppe, quietly licking away at their spoons. Sweaty, dusty, sore feet and all: fabulously happy.

"You know what Jess, I have to hand it to you," Nick said, "that was pretty fun."

"'Pretty fun'?" Schmidt challenged him, "Today was EPIC. I mean, even aside from the three sets of digits I picked up from hot zoo keepers...the zoo is LEGIT, man."

"You know the best thing about it?" Jess asked.

"The balloons?" Nick teased, tugging on the bouquet of them that she'd insisted on bringing inside, and tying on the back of her ice-cream-parlor-style chair.

"Balloons are ALWAYS great," she said fondly. "But NO. The best thing about today is that no matter where we all go in life from here, Coach is ALWAYS going to remember this day. And he is always going to remember US. Because everyone remembers their first trip to the zoo. That will be our legacy."

And with that, she seemed to make her peace with Coach's eminent departure. He wasn't ever one for many words, much less sentimental ones, but he was smiling his thanks at her, and she was smiling back. That angellic smile that she sometimes had...that smile that said that the world was a happy place, and that even when it wasn't, good could come from bad. And even though he knew that wasn't always true, this time Nick couldn't resist smiling along, and wanting to believe that she was right.

Because today, she really was.


	2. Chapter 2

"Soooo. You and Winston haven't gotten off to the greatest of starts."

Jess, in typical Jess-style, had mercurially gone from grieving the exit of Coach, to eagerly anticipating the arrival of the new roommate. But Winston didn't seem quite as excited to return to the loft and find that there was a GIRL living there with them now.

Especially one as...well..._Jess-y_...as Jess.

Jess buried her face in her hands. "Niiiiiick, what else can I do? I really want him to like me, but it feels like I've BLOWN IT every time I've been around him."

"I'd disagree if I could."

Nick and Jess were eating grilled cheese sandwiches together, and she let her head fall forward against the table with a loud and dispairing *thunk*, just as Winston walked in.

"Hey Winston."

"Oh hey WINSTON," Jess popped up like a jack-in-the-box, "Let me get you some lunch. Do you like tomato soup?"

"No thanks, I spent the morning at the DMV, and all I really wanna do right now is lay down on my bed and cry."

"Ohhh, okaaay then," Jess demurred softly, not knowing Winstion well enough to know whether he was joking or not.

As soon as he disappeared into "the little bedroom", Jess hissed, "See Nick, he hates me!"

***thunk***

"Number one Jess, you're going to give yourself a concussion, and besides...oh geez...here...just..." Nick reached across the table and retrieved a curled tip of her hair from her soup bowl, and pinched it dry. He looked around for a napkin, and not finding one, just unceremoniously licked the red liquid off his fingers.

Oblivious to Jess's disgusted look, Nick continued, "Besides, you have to understand, Winston's going through a lot right now...you know..._inside_. That place you like to talk about all the time. Playing professional ball has been the goal of his entire life, and now that that's over, he has no idea what to do with himself, or where his life is going next. He has to start completely over, and it's not always easy to know how to do that, or to find the will to do it."  
_  
Kinda like him._ Dammit, why did talking to Jess so often turn into what felt like a therapy session, whether she even realized it or not? But Nick was in no mood for self-realization, and he stuffed that thought back where it belonged, in the corner of his mind where he didn't ever think about that disasterous date with Katie Goodberry in the 11th grade, or the week he spent pursuing a professional skate-boarding career.

Meanwhile, Jess was talking, saying something about closed doors and open windows, and blah blah blah...

"JESS. What you have to realize is that when someone like Winston, or, you know, let's just take for example, ME...is having bad day, we may just not be in the mood for, you know, someone with your particular level of degree of...I'll just say 'perkiness'."

"But Nick, I am a joy and a pleasure to be around!" At his look she explained, "My seventh grade math teacher told me that one time, and I'll never forget it. Oh, sure, there were some kind of charges for inappropriate touching with students or something like that, later in his career...but I'm sure he still meant it at the time."

"Yeah, ok, granted, there are times when you're a joy and a pleasure to be around. And then there's the rest of the week, when you're pretty much just a pain in the ass."

Jess pouted prettily, and Nick continued, "Look Jess, just get us a TV...ANY TV...and that will go a long way towards endearing yourself to Winston, I promise."

"I'M ON IT!" Jessed jumped up and smoothed down her red dress.

She looked cute, Nick observed with part of his brain, while he continued, "And in the meantime, DON'T TALK TO HIM! Just...don't! talk to him!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Can I talk to him, now?" Jess whispered to Nick.

They were sitting in their favorite little cafe, triumphantly celebrating the return of all of Jess's stuff...but mostly, the TV.

"Yeah," Nick smiled, "I think it might be ok." But then as she opened her mouth and eagerly turned in Winston's direction, Nick stopped her with a hand on her forearm, "BUT...just...you know..._pace_ yourself!" Still, he couldn't help winking and nodding encouragingly.

She smiled back and turned towards Winston again, this time a little more sedately. "Winston, thank you for coming along tonight. You didn't have to...I know you barely know me."

Winston grinned as easily as Nick had seen him do, since his return. "My pleasure Jess. It was worth it to see you come out the door, carrying that TV, and dressed like Helena Bonham Carter."

The whole table erupted in laughter, and Nick noticed that even Cece seemed to have let down her guard, as she said, "You were awesome Jess. We were a little worried for a minute there when you let him hug you...but then the look on your face when you saw that plant..."

The guys dissolved into laughter again, as Jess protested, "I TOLD HIM TO WATER THEM!"

"I'm just glad we're not still circling that block," Schmidt added, to more laughter.

Winston finally spoke up. "Jess, you probably don't realize this, but you inspired me with your little speech today. You're right, sometimes bad things happen to us for good reasons. I needed to hear that today. Thank you."

"You're welcome Winston! And thanks again for the use of your pre-game mix. I don't think I could have done it without it!"

At that the group burst into a raucous rendition of "Save the Best For Last", and Nick reflected that he didn't ever remember laughing as hard and as often as he had since Jess came on the scene.

_And now we're standing face to face_

_Isn't this world a crazy place?_

_Just when I thought a chance had passed_

_You go and save the best for last..._


End file.
